


Matthew Murdock's Purrfect Life

by ILikeFloralWayTooMuch



Category: Daredevil (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, Light-Hearted, M/M, Matt Murdock Bonds With a Grumpy Old Cat and it's Amazing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-27
Updated: 2015-07-30
Packaged: 2018-04-11 11:00:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4432958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ILikeFloralWayTooMuch/pseuds/ILikeFloralWayTooMuch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Foggy finds a grumpy, abandoned cat outside of his apartment, so of course Matt is the one who ends up taking care of it. </p><p>Or: Matt Murdock, beloved trash baby, adopts a feline trash baby.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Let's Come Together Right Meow

**Author's Note:**

> I'm absolute trash, please forgive me.
> 
> I hope you enjoy! :)

“Foggy, where in the world did you find that thing?”

Foggy looks absolutely affronted. “Matt, don’t call this beautiful creature a ‘thing’! She has feelings, you know.”

“It’s a cat, not a person,” Matt sighs, his patience already being tested this early in the morning. A _Saturday_ morning, no less.

“She’s a _special_ cat, though,” Foggy argues, securing the disgruntled cat in question tightly in his arms. She doesn’t do much to help her case when she growls in the back of her throat, low and threatening.

Matt raises a skeptical eyebrow. “Like I said, where did you find it--her?”

Foggy runs a hand through his hair, and his voice becomes more solemn. “Outside of my apartment. Some asshole left this little ray of sunshine in a cardboard box with a note that listed all of her shots.”

Matt can clearly sense the affection that Foggy already feels for this animal. Foggy tends to quickly become attached when he sees little babies and animals; He’s always been one to feel empathy for the underdog, and this mangy little cat is no exception. “Foggy, I don’t know if your should keep this cat. We’re both pretty tight on money, and--” 

“Oh, I’m not keeping her, buddy. You are!” Foggy replies brightly.

 _“What?”_ Matt sputters. “What makes you think that I’m equipped to take care of a cat? Or that I would even _want_ a cat?”

Foggy scratches his feline friend behind her ears and cheerfully explains, “Everybody loves cats! And more importantly, your apartment is much bigger and safer for a cat than mine is. She needs space to roam, Matty!”

Matt shakes his head stubbornly. “No way, Foggy. This isn’t a good idea.”

“Oh come on, Matt. Please?” Foggy implores.

Imagining him standing there with a fluffy little animal strikes some type of domestic chord deep within Matt, because he sighs deeply and says, “ _Fine_ …what does she look like?” 

Foggy grins and replies happily, “Oh, she’s absolutely hideous. She’s got these big orange eyes that make her look like some kind of scary Halloween cat, and her fur is all matted. She has a lot of potential, though. She’s got this cute little underbite, and her fur’s black, so she’s kind of got the whole dark and mysterious thing going for her. She kind of reminded me of you a little bit, to be honest.”

Matt can’t really help the warm and fuzzy feeling that spreads through him at Foggy’s description, all the while ignoring the fact that Foggy just compared him to a scruffy cat. “Could I…do you think I could try holding her?” Matt asks uncertainly. He’d never had any pets while his dad was alive, let alone at the orphanage, so he hasn’t exactly had much experience with handling animals.

“Yeah, sure,” Foggy says kindly, and then he’s gently placing the cat into Matt’s arms.

Despite both men’s best efforts at being as careful with her as possible, the cat doesn’t take too kindly at being manhandled. She lets out an angry hiss, which doesn’t instill much confidence in Matt.

Once Matt’s got her completely secured in his arms, she slowly but steadily calms down, to the point where she’ll only give the occasional half-heated growl if Matt shifts or pets her in the wrong place.   

She doesn’t seem completely comfortable yet, but at least she leans into Matt’s touch when he scratches her behind her ears. He internally counts it as a success; he’ll take it where he can get it.

“We’re going to have to give her a name eventually,” Matt comments, rubbing two fingers underneath her chin. 

Foggy clicks his tongue. “Well, duh. I’ve already started a mental list of names.”

He begins counting off names on his fingers: “So I was thinking maybe Death Eater, Soul Destroyer, or The Menace?”

Matt gives a startled laugh, which makes the cat hiss again. “Foggy, those are terrible names for a cat.” 

“Hey, I’m not done yet!” Foggy exclaims, pretending to be insulted. “What about Señorita Meow?” he asks with a playful grin. 

“I can’t tell if that’s better or worse than the first three,” Matt replies dryly.

“Fine, you jerk,” Foggy sighs. “Clearly you don’t appreciate my creative genius, so…what if we named her Angel? It’s a simple name, but it would be really funny because of your whole ‘Devil of Hell’s Kitchen’ thing going on."

“So…it would kind of be like an inside joke?” Matt asks, his smile growing wider.

“Exactly!” Foggy agrees, excited that Matt is finally agreeing with him on something. 

“Yeah, Foggy. I like that name.” Matt agrees softly, running his thumb slowly down the bridge of Angel’s nose.

“That’s awesome!” Foggy steps forward and presses a light kiss against Matt. Then he leans down and pecks a kiss onto the cat’s head, eliciting a surprised chirping noise from her. “This is going to be so great, Matty. I basically come over here every day, so we can divide cat care-taking responsibilities. It’s like we’re adopting a baby together, only it’s gonna be ten times easier!”

“Yeah, but I’m pretty sure babies aren’t this grumpy, though. I don’t know how long it’s going to take before this cat likes me.”

“She’ll warm up to you once she gets to know you. You just have to be patient,” Foggy promises. He looks down at his watch. “Well, I’ve gotta meet my mom for lunch in an hour, but as soon as I’m done I’ll come back and we can go shopping for cat stuff. She’s going to need food, and a litter box, and a collar, probably--oh, and we can get her one of those special cat beds and a scratching post!” 

Matt grins at his enthusiasm. “Foggy, we’re not running a five-star hotel for cats here. I think she’ll be just fine without a cat bed.”

Foggy shrugs. “Whatever. We can discuss it again later. I’ve gotta run for now, though.” He quickly kisses Matt on the cheek, and heads for the door, yelling, “I love you two! Don’t get into too much trouble while I’m away!”

And then he’s gone, already descending the staircase, and Matt is left alone with this grumpy cat with an underbite who doesn’t really care for him all that much.

Angel huffs out a breath, and for one crazy minute, Matt becomes unreasonably insecure when he wonders if this angry little cat _misses Foggy_ already. Then he reminds himself that _this is a cat we’re talking about here,_ and he snaps out of it. 

“What am I going to do with you until Foggy comes back?” Matt asks, and _oh god,_ he’s already starting to become one of those crazy cat ladies who talk their pets like they’re people.

Angel stares up at him, blinks slowly, and lets out a tiny little “Mraoow” in response.


	2. You've Got a Fur-end in Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Foggy and Matt do domestic shit together, Karen meets Angel, and everything is amazing.

Matt could have never imagined that one little fluffy cat would require so much stuff until now.

He and Foggy are currently perusing the pet aisles at the local supermarket, searching for everything that Angel could possibly need.

Before they had left, Foggy put together a lengthy and well thought-out list to refer to, which sort of made Matt fall in love even more with him (although he would never say it out loud).

“Okay, so far we have ten different kinds of wet food, dry kibble, a cat brush, flea and tick medicine, litter, a couple of litterboxes…” Foggy lists, checking them off with a pen as he reads them out loud.

“This cat is going to make us go bankrupt, you know that right?” Matt interjects, raising an eyebrow.

Foggy looks up from his list and grins at Matt. “I know dude, but this is so worth it.

“Now all we really have to buy now are some food and water bowls, a collar, a few toys, and a cute little cat sweater…” he trails off and raises his eyebrows meaningfully.

Matt tries really hard to keep a straight face. He needs to be stern right now, and Foggy won’t take him seriously if he’s _laughing_. “We’re not getting her a sweater, Foggy. She’s a cat, that’s why she has fur.” 

“But you’re apartment gets so cold, though! She’ll freeze, Matty. You won’t be able to live with yourself if she gets feline hypothermia.”

“You’re being dramatic, Fog.”

“But they’re so cute!” Foggy insists, holding one up and waving it around as if Matt can actually see it. “I wish you could see this right now, but trust me when I say it’s the best thing I’ve ever seen in my life. It’s a red fuzzy devil costume, and it has horns and everything. It’s hilarious, Matt!” Foggy sounds so excited that Matt has no other choice but to sigh in defeat. “Fine. Throw it in the cart.”

***

When Matt and Foggy bring Angel into the office on Monday, holy _shit_. Karen’s delighted squeal is so shrill that it makes Matt wince. “Oh aren’t you just precious,” Karen croons, picking Angel up and cradling her to her chest.

Despite being a complete hellion in her cat carrier on the way over, Angel finally starts to live up to her name when Karen showers her with attention. The moment Karen starts petting her, Angel relaxes against her hand and nuzzles her, a deep purr rumbling in her chest. She even licks Karen’s hand contentedly a few times, the little asshole.

She’s acting as if she didn’t just scratch up his and Foggy’s arms when they attempted to shove her in the carrier only twenty minutes ago. Matt is starting to think that this cat derives pleasure simply from spiting him.

“Wow Karen,” Foggy laughs affectionately, “I’ve never seen you freak out like this since…since forever, actually. I never would have pegged you as a cat person.” 

Karen shrugs. “I’m usually not, but this little cutie makes it impossible not to become attached. I’m in love with her already.” She squeezes Angel even tighter to make her point, which causes the poor cat to let out a disgruntled squeak.

“Well, I’m pretty sure that the feeling is mutual in this case,” Foggy replies fondly. “We’ve had her for two days now, and she hasn’t warmed up to us like she has with you. We should start calling you the Cat Whisperer.” 

“It definitely suits you,” Matt chimes in while setting down the cat supplies they had brought for Angel’s temporary office visit.

Karen giggles and says, “Thanks for the compliment. But I wouldn’t worry just yet. Give it some time, she’ll eventually come around to liking you. You’re basically her dads, so she’ll learn to love both of you before you know it.”

“I’m not so sure about that,” Matt laughs softly. “She’s warmed up to Foggy more than she has to me. I’m pretty certain she enjoys causing me physical pain more than anything else.” 

“I doubt that, Matt,” Karen insists. “She’s probably just a little shy, that’s all. And it might also be because you’re a guy. Some animals are more trusting of women at first.” 

“Yeah, that could be it,” Matt says in a neutral tone. He highly doubts that’s what it actually is, but he doesn’t want to crush Karen’s optimistic outlook.

Karen carefully sets Angel down on her swivel chair since she was starting to get squirmy from being held for so long. Angel looks up at Karen, blinks slowly, then pounces off of the chair and begins walking around. Her feet patter as she prances along the wooden floorboards. 

“Will she try to run away?” Karen asks uncertainly, watching as Angel rubs up against every single object she can find.

“Nah,” Foggy says confidently. “I’m guessing she’s pretty old, so she probably doesn’t have the energy or willpower to try and escape.”

After several minutes of thoroughly investigating this new and mysterious environment, Angel returns to the main office area and leaps up onto Matt’s chair. She turns around in circles a few times, trying to get comfortable, and then contentedly stretches and lies down on the seat.

Foggy grins and gently elbows Matt in the side. “I think she’s officially claimed your chair as her property, buddy.” 

Matt shakes his head in disbelief. “I’m not going to let this cat boss me around, Foggy.” He snaps his fingers to get Angel’s attention, and then points at the floor. “Get down from there,” he commands in his most serious voice.

Foggy and Karen both snort, and then Foggy giggles, “Dude, she’s not a dog. That isn’t going to work.”

For the remainder of the day, when Matt wants to sit in his chair, he has to pick up Angel and set her on the floor. Every time this happens, without fail, Angel will then leap back up into Matt’s lap and either lay there, kneading her paws into his legs, or jump onto his desk and trample all over his files. Needless to say, it’s kind of irritating but still unbelievingly adorable. But of course, Matt would never admit it. “You really enjoy raising my blood pressure, don’t you?” he asks, but it’s lacking any real heat, especially since he rubs underneath her chin while he says it. Angel chirps softly in response.

Having Angel in the office even ends up being a good thing. Around one in the afternoon, one of their clients and her young daughter walk into the office.

As it is with most small children, the little girl is extremely shy around people she’s unfamiliar with, and it soon becomes difficult for the mother, Foggy and Matt to have a successful discussion with the little girl tugging at the woman’s sleeves and shyly asking every few minutes when they can leave.

However, her entire attitude changes when she catches sight of Angel. As soon as the cat emerges from behind the desk, she lets out an overjoyed gasp and runs after her. For a brief second, Matt becomes worried that Angel will react angrily or even violently at the little girl’s unbridled energy, but he is quickly proved wrong.

Angel immediately relaxes into the girl’s touches and purrs deeply when she picks her up and cradles her against her chest. 

Hearing the little girl’s happy giggles and conversations with the cat brings smiles to everyone’s faces, and Matt has to begrudgingly admit to himself that maybe Angel isn’t as much of a grumpy asshole as he had originally thought.

Shortly after that, with the little girl fully distracted, Matt and Foggy are able to fully discuss the details of the case with her mother, and everybody ends up happy.

Later on that night, when he and Foggy are in bed, and Angel is sandwiched in between them, Matt slowly drifts off to sleep with the semi-coherent thought of, _This cat is has me wrapped around her little finger--paw? Whatever. I’m so screwed._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case anyone was wondering what that devil sweater/costume looked like:  
> http://g01.a.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1QKieIpXXXXblaXXXq6xXFXXXc/Pskov-Pet-font-b-Dog-b-font-case-for-CAT-Fancy-font-b-Devil-b-font.jpg
> 
> Or you could imagine it looking like this one, only as a sweater:  
> https://5eb4225edc-custmedia.vresp.com/5b70c06f49/cat%20devil%20costume.jpg


	3. Don't Worry, You're Purrfect to Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Matt helps Angel get through a thunderstorm.

It’s been two weeks since Angel became an official part of the Nelson and Murdock family, and just as Karen had wisely predicted, Angel was making leaps and bounds in terms of warming up to them. She rarely ever hisses at them anymore, and she now enjoys being held and petted by them (although it always has to be on her terms).

Matt hates to admit it, but he has barely been home during the past few weeks. Work keeps him at the office well into the evening, and then afterwards he usually dons his Daredevil outfit and fights crime for several more hours. It doesn’t leave him much quality time to spend with Angel or Foggy.

Most of the time, Matt only gets to spend time with Angel when he feeds her in the morning, or when she curls up next to him on his bed when he collapses there, trying to get a few hours of sleep in before work.

Thankfully, Foggy, being the caring human being that he is, oftentimes spends the night at Matt’s apartment, taking care of Angel when Matt can’t be there to do so.

When Matt comes in during nights like those, he feels an overwhelming surge of guilt and love when he sees Foggy and Angel curled up on his bed together, as if they’re trying to tell him that they will always be there to wait for his return.

Right now, it’s 11:30 on a Thursday night, and it’s storming outside like crazy. Matt has just climbed in through the window, soaking wet, after dealing with a new crime ring at the other end of Hell’s Kitchen.

After peeling off his drenched outfit and draping it over a chair, Matt listens to the various sounds in his apartment. It’s slightly more difficult than usual thanks to the rain pounding on the roof and the deep, rumbling thunder, but after a few moments of concentration, Matt picks up on Foggy’s slow and level breathing coming from the bedroom. His heartbeat is calm and steady, and Matt smiles when he realizes that Foggy is asleep. 

It’s never ceased to amaze Matt at how Foggy could always sleep through almost anything. Even back in law school, when half of the residence hall was awake due to some crazy party going on upstairs, Foggy would without fail be completely unconscious in his bed, arm draped over his face and snoring loudly.

After assuring himself that Foggy is perfectly safe, Matt focuses on the other noises in the apartment; the refrigerator whirring softly in the kitchen, and the light bulb from the lamp that Foggy had forgotten to turn off is buzzing. 

Then he hears a soft, rapid heartbeat coming from the living room, and Matt can tell from years of listening to heartbeats that this one sounds anxious and fearful. _It’s Angel._

Matt tiles his head toward the source of the noise to pick up on it better. He senses little vibrations coming from her, which means that she must be shaking like a leaf.

Oh, _of course._ Angel is terrified of the storm outside. Matt wants to smack himself for not picking up on it quicker.

He slowly walks across the floor, being mindful not to step too fast or heavy; he doesn’t want Angel to become even more frightened. He’s in his boxers, and the apartment is chilly, but he wills himself not to shiver too much. He reaches her hiding spot under the sofa and hunkers down carefully. “Hey there, Angel. How’s it going?”

Angel mews pathetically, as if to say, “Not so great, asshole.”

He holds out his hand to her, hoping that it will draw her out a little bit. “You don’t have to be afraid,” he murmurs. “It’s just a thunderstorm. It can’t hurt you.” 

Just then, a huge clap of thunder makes the entire room tremble, and Angel retreats even further underneath the sofa. 

Matt sighs. His current squatting position has quickly become uncomfortable, so he sits down on the cold floor with his legs crossed and waits. He might as well make himself comfortable.

A minute or two passes without any progress, so Matt tries talking again, patiently placing his hand back under the sofa for Angel. “You know, I used to be afraid of thunderstorms, too,” he confesses quietly. “When I was little, I would see the lightning bolts outside my window and I was so scared that they would electrocute me somehow. The thunder was even scarier. I never liked thunder to begin with, but after the accident…it was so much worse.”

Matt pauses and briefly wonders if spilling your life story to a goddamn cat counts as a lapse in sanity. “My senses became so intense and heightened that I could barely handle it at first. Every clap of thunder…it completely filled my head, and it made me feel like everything was falling apart…that I was falling apart.” 

After he says this, Angel pokes her head out and cautiously rubs her wet nose against the palm of Matt’s hand. “But when my dad found out about how scared I was, he came into my room and sat with me through the storm. He told me that just like everything else, storms pass. Good things can never last forever, but neither can bad things. He said that it’s important to focus on the positive aspects of life, and if you do that, then the bad things will pass more quickly.

“That’s what I always do when things get to be too much…I think about Foggy and Karen, and you, and how happy I am when I’m around you, and then being alive seems so much more bearable.”

Matt swallows around the lump in his throat. “I don’t know what makes you happy. Maybe you could think about catnip or chasing mice or something.” He roughly drags a hand down his face and laughs at how goddamn _out of it_ he sounds right now.

“Anyways. That night, my dad also promised that he’d never make me face the storms by myself ever again. That he’d always be there for me. Of course, he wasn’t able to keep that promise, since he’s gone…but the sentiment still meant a lot to me.” 

Matt clears his throat roughly and continues. “I guess I just want you to know that Foggy and I will be there to take care of you. I can’t say for certain that we’ll _always_ be here, but I can promise that we’ll never abandon you like your previous owners did.

“I know you’re a cat, and that you probably can’t comprehend human emotions, and you have no idea what I’m saying, but I’m kind of hoping that you’re smarter than I gave you credit for, and you’re somehow translating all of this into cat language.”

Finally, he has run out of things to say, so he sits in silence and prays that the scared cat will eventually come out from her hiding spot. It takes longer than he would like to say, but Angel slowly, gradually, emerges. At first it’s just her head poking out and sniffing the air around her. Then her torso and front paws, and finally the rest of her furry body come out into the open. She cautiously looks around the apartment, as if she thinks that the thunderstorm is a monster that can pop out and hurt her. 

“There you go, sweetheart. You’re okay,” Matt assures her, carefully rubbing under her chin the way she likes it. Matt is extremely surprised when Angel gingerly climbs onto his lap and settles down after a few seconds of walking around in circles, kneading her paws rhythmically into his thighs.

She nuzzles her face gently against him and meows quietly, and holy _shit_ , this cat trusts him. The thought almost makes him cry. And if he does end up tearing up just a little bit, nobody needs to know about it.

They sit there for a while; Matt is still worried that any sudden movements will spook Angel. When he becomes pretty sure that she’s somewhat calmed down, he carefully lifts her out of his lap, and braces himself against the sofa so he can stand up. Angel clearly doesn’t like being jostled, but she keeps the vocal complaints to a minimum at the adjustment. Thankfully he succeeds at standing up with Angel cradled in his arms without any scratches to show for it.

Matt turns around with Angel secured in his arms and jumps a little bit when he spots the blurry red shape of Foggy standing in the doorframe. He didn’t even hear Foggy wake up. “Sorry, Fog. I didn’t mean to wake you. I just got back. Have you been asleep for long?” 

“Yeah, kind of,” Foggy replies softly, relaxed sleepiness tinged in his voice. Matt absolutely loves it when he sounds like this. “ ‘s okay, though. I woke up because I needed to use the bathroom. You know me and my bladder.”

He rubs the sleepiness from his eyes and smiles. “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I kind of overheard what you were saying to Angel. That was…really sweet, how patient you were with her. You never told me about that conversation with your dad, though.”

Matt shrugs, slightly embarrassed. “I was willing to do almost anything to get her out from under there. And I wasn’t trying to keep that from you. I guess it never came up before. I can tell you anything you’d like to know, if you want.”

Foggy smiles again and runs a tired hand through his hair. “Thanks, Matt. I’ll probably take you up on that offer when we’re not both exhausted. Right now, let’s just go to bed, okay?”

That suddenly sounds like the best idea that Matt has ever heard, and he nods firmly. “Yeah, okay.” He meets Foggy in the bedroom and presses a lingering kiss against his lips. Foggy grins and lazily kisses back, and then leans down to peck a kiss on Angel’s head before climbing back into the bed. Matt places Angel onto the middle of the bed before joining them.

By this point, the storm had moved on so that all remains are a few flashes of lightning and a quiet rumbling of thunder in the distance. Thankfully, Angel’s heartbeat has returned to its normal speed.

After a few moments of comfortable silence, Matt and Foggy turn so they’re facing each other on the bed, and Matt can tell from Foggy’s heart that he’s quickly falling back asleep. Matt understands completely; he’s not far from sleep either.

Matt knows that he isn’t completely coherent right now, but he decides to just go with it. “You know…I'm pretty sure that one of these days, I’m going to turn into one of those old cat ladies. You’re going to come here sometime in the near future, and the apartment’s going to smell like litter and cat food, and instead of just one cat, there will be ten more cats running around the place.”

“What, so now you’re adding psychic powers to your already long list of ridiculous superhuman abilities?” Foggy snorts gently. “Whatever. As long as you never love them more than me, or kick me out because you need the extra space for your huge cat family, I don’t care. You can have one hundred cats if you want.” 

Matt yawns violently. “Thanks, Fog,” he murmurs, smiling affectionately. “I love you. More than anyone."

“I love you too, Matty,” Foggy replies, running his hand through Matt’s dark hair a few times.

Not too long after, Foggy once again falls asleep while facing Matt, so close that he can feel Foggy’s breath fanning over his face. Angel’s warm body is tucked under Matt’s arm, and she is purring contentedly. As Matt drifts off to sleep, he realizes that this is the happiest that he has been in a very long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's finally finished (unless I get the motivation or inspiration to write more chapters, haha)! I really loved writing this, it was so much fun, and I hope you enjoyed reading it!

**Author's Note:**

> I kind of got inspiration for what this cat looks like when I saw the famous Princess Monster Truck (she's absolutely precious) while scrolling through tumblr:
> 
> http://33.media.tumblr.com/2d8793ea47b7b3f26e6519edb2dfab29/tumblr_inline_mxnzaoz0om1r9bkxt.jpg


End file.
